144 articles · 8.3K karma · 19 friends · active 3 hours, 48 minutes ago

Three things accompany and fascinate me throughout my life: history, the fine arts and the fascination of aeroplanes and ships. In the many aspects of model making, these fascinations come together quite happily.

In this respect, I take the freedom to build anything and in any scale that occupies me. In practice, these are mainly aircraft in 1:48 and 1:32 scale, but lately the 1:72 and even the 1:144 scale have developed a great fascination for me.

As a child of the 1970s, I am aware of the scale in which the offers, possibilities and demands in plastic modelling have developed: we are living in truly great times... aren't we?

A model that I originally didn't want to build at allbut which was (and still is!) a lot of fun: Zlin 137 Agro

The path to building this model of the Zlin 137 Agro is so entertainingly winding and full of twists and turns that I would like to start this report with a description of it. Sometimes the journey changes the perspective in such a way [...]

What a sight! McDonnell Douglas DC-10 Air Tanker

With some modelling projects, it is quite clear what motivated you to build them. In the case of the rare DC-10 modification presented here, I can easily identify three factors that I would like to present below. Fascination number one: [...]

Fire, water, air... three elements, one aircraft: Canadair's mighty CL-215!

The fact that the invention of the aeroplane and the mastery of flight has changed the world is a commonplace that no one will contradict. It becomes more concrete when we take a closer look at an area where the use of aeroplanes makes [...]

A giant spreads its wings: B-24 GR.Mk.VI, 10th Squadron RCAF

A quote from Paul Kennedy's book "Engineers of Victory" should open this article: "Closing the air gap did not happen because some great person decreed it. There was a group of chiefly Canadian air engineers who in early [...]

Saab SK 60 times three! Part III: Saab SK60B /60083 of the 3rd Squadron "Urban Gul" of F21 Wing and my experience with Pilot Replica's long awaited kit!

The Saab SK60/Saab 105 occupies a prominent position in the history of aviation. Its very origin as a project for a civilian four-seater business jet gives it a special status. What is particularly interesting, however, is that it was [...]

Saab SK 60 times three! Part II: a formation of four Saab SK60s called "the Vikings" and the Swedish neutrality.

The history of the Swedish Air Force is a reflection of the neutral political stance that the great Nordic country developed in the fateful years of the 20th century. In 1905, two years after the first motorised flight had been achieved, [...]

Saab SK 60 times three! The first: SK 60A / 60072 from the Air Force F5 flying school Ljungbyhed and a brief outline of the type's operational history.

Some time ago I had the wonderful opportunity to build three of the newly launched Saab SK 60s from the Swedish manufacturer Pilot-Replicas in parallel. As each individual model in this series has its own special features that are worth [...]

The world is upside down! An attempt to capture aerobatics in a model: Zlin Z-526AFS in its proper element

About the idea of an aerobatics presentation Sometimes it is worth looking at the well-known or seemingly self-evident from an unusual perspective. We are all familiar with the term "aerobatics" and everyone will probably [...]

An Easterner in the West: Zlin Z-526AFS "Akrobat", Sassuolo Aero Club

It is not surprising that the Czech manufacturer Eduard has taken on the Zlin Z-526 with particular love and expertise: Constructions by the Czech aircraft company Zlin (originally: Zlínska letecká akciová společnost) have long played [...]

A bit like Star Wars Death Star, deadly anyway: Sperry "ball" turret of a B-24 Liberator

A quick and topical article this time! Sometimes "the oats get you", as they say. This was the case for me recently when I was in the middle of building the large Hobby Boss B-24 Liberator in 1/32nd scale and was about to [...]